Vehicular fuel dispensing systems generally include at least one underground storage tank that holds a quantity of fuel, with piping that couples the tank to a service island. In general, a fuel-submersible pump in the underground tank provides fuel under pressure to the service island where it is pumped by a customer into a vehicle or container. At the service island, at least one metal cabinet encloses fuel dispensing apparatus including solenoid valves that control fuel flow, and where there are several grades of fuel, allow a selection of a particular grade of fuel for dispensing. Typically, the hydraulic components, including flow meters and associated encoders, flow control valves, pumps and motors and similar fuel handling components are located in a lower portion of the metal cabinet, while the upper portion of the cabinet houses a customer interface, pump controllers, network interface devices and other such electronic components. In more modern systems, a computer is typically installed in the upper portion of the cabinet to control operational functions of the dispenser, these functions including associating a price with a particular grade of fuel, calculating a price for dispensed quantities of fuel and controlling displays of price and quantities of fuel. In addition, where credit cards may be used to “pay at the pump”, the computer controls components connectable to the Internet for verifying credit cards of customers, or to an Ethernet link in turn connected to a database for verifying credit cards or the like. In addition, the computer may also control customer communications devices such as receipt printers, card readers, cash note acceptors and storage units, touch screens, keypads, displays upon which fuel pricing and quantity are indicated, as well as advertising or other informational services that may be present.
One problem associated with such modern fuel dispensing stations is that when components fail, they must be serviced by specialized technicians that currently charge about 75 cents/mile travel time and about $75.00/hour for service time. Where fueling stations are in remote locations, it is not uncommon for a proprietor to pay $1000.00 or more just in travel for the service technician. It is also known that, as the computerized and electrical components are located generally in a relatively harsh environment, they are generally most prone to failure and that most service calls are related to electronic or computer components in the fuel dispenser.
An example of such a fuel dispenser is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,312 to Swick, Jr. In this patent, it can be seen that the electronics are housed within housing 30, which must be substantially disassembled in order to gain access for maintenance, repair and servicing. An improvement to this design is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,846 to Day, Jr. et al. In the Day, Jr. et al patent, it can be seen that the electronics are housed on a unitized door 30 and within the housing defined by walls 42, 44, 46, 48.
There are several problems with the dispenser designs described above, and with fuel dispensers in general. One problem is limited access to the electronics, which often requires disassembly of the cabinet or opening multiple compartments in the fuel dispenser. Further, access to the electronics can differ by model, requiring a large knowledge base and experience to effectively service and maintain different types of fuel dispensers. Other problems have been created by increasing complexity as more customer communication devices and features are added to the fuel dispenser electronics. Existing dispensers often include several electronic modules or circuit boards, and complexity of servicing requires an expensive investment in highly trained installation and service technicians, sophisticated diagnostic equipment and an inventory of replacement parts, including computer circuit boards, pump control circuit boards, networking circuit boards and so forth. As stated, these circuit boards are usually mounted in different locations in the fuel dispenser and connected by cables. Further, dispenser manufacturers often require that installation and service technicians complete factory training, and fuel dispenser operators are often constrained to use “factory-authorized” service technicians. Yet another problem created by the complex electronic configurations is a limited ability to upgrade dispensers in the field. Further yet, after being repaired, configuration data of current fuel dispensers, i.e. information related to the number of fuel hoses and types of fuel, the customer interface, card reader and receipt printer and other such information must be entered via a separate keypad, typically mounted inside the fuel dispenser. Here, after repair of the fuel dispenser, a service technician enters codes representative of the configuration data into one or more computer memories, a process that usually takes at least 30 minutes or so.
Accordingly, Applicants propose constructing a fuel dispensing station wherein the electronic control and computerized components thereof are integrated and housed in a discrete module that simply slides or otherwise is easily mountable into position in the metal cabinet. Electrical connectors on the module and in the recess of the fuel dispenser within which the module is slidably installed are constructed so that when a new or refurbished module is slid into place, the electrical connectors are brought into mating relation and automatically connect the electronics module to the fuel dispenser. As such, all that is required to replace a faulty electronic/electrical module is for an individual, who may have no particular specialized training in servicing the fuel dispenser, to open the fuel cabinet, pull out the defective module containing all the electronic components and mount a functional module to the rails or slides and slide the functional electronic/electrical module into place. In some embodiments, configuration data may be offloaded and stored for later retrieval in instances where the computer is operational, and if the computer is not operational then the configuration data may be uploaded into the replacement computer by a site controller computer containing the configuration data. In other embodiments, the configuration data may be in a removable flash memory card that is simply removed from the defective module and installed in the replacement module. The defective module may then be sent for repair. Spare electronic modules may be kept on site for immediate use, or a functional module may be shipped to a site when needed. Thus, the need for expensive service calls by specialized technicians to repair electronic/electrical components of fuel dispensing stations is eliminated. Such a system is particularly suited for remote locations that may be hundreds of miles from a city or town large enough to obtain or provide support for a fuel dispenser. In this instance, and as stated, an individual may replace a defective electronics module by simply sliding the defective module out of the fuel dispenser and sliding an operating module into place.
Other enhancements of Applicants invention include splitting the computer in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,101, entitled SPLIT COMPUTER, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. In this instance, the computer portion is located in a protected environment, such as inside a convenience store or other business establishment, with the remaining peripheral components located inside the fuel dispenser enclosure. The computer and dispenser components may be connected by an Ethernet link that incorporates separate PCI bus time domains at each end, as described in the referenced patent. In other embodiments, the dispenser may be coupled by conventional copper wire or by an optical link to a computer in the protected location.